Overview
This goes back to when I was studying for the writing section of the Eiken Grade 1 test.
- Me: Oh no! It’s a test where I have to write in 25 minutes, but if I do it normally it takes 40 minutes! I won’t make it!
- Friend: Sounds tough
- Me: So I came up with an idea
- Friend: I’m not that interested, but go on
- Me: I’ll buy a mechanical pencil with an auto-advance feature and reduce the time spent clicking the lead
- Friend: That part?
KURUTOGA DIVE
“KURUTOGA” is a series of mechanical pencils by Mitsubishi Pencil. The lead rotates automatically, so it always stays sharp. The high-spec model in this lineup is the KURUTOGA DIVE. In addition to the usual KURUTOGA mechanism, it also has an automatic lead-advance feature. The lead comes out on its own both before writing and while writing. It even has a cap, even though it’s a mechanical pencil. The list price is 5,500 yen. Wait, what?
- Special page: https://www.mpuni.co.jp/special/kurutogadive/
- Catalog page: https://www.mpuni.co.jp/products/mechanical_pencils/sharp_pen/kurutoga/standard/m5_5000.html
It comes in four colors. The most popular one is probably Aurora Purple.
- Article for the Aurora Purple release: https://www.mpuni.co.jp/company/press/20231109-53218.html
This model was released in November 2023, and thanks to its special coating, the color seems to change slightly depending on the angle. …But my favorite is definitely Twilight Orange. Because it stands out—when I look into my pencil case, I can find it instantly. Efficiency first.
Thoughts
Not-so-great points
- It has a “window to check if the lead is rotating,” but it’s too dark and I can’t see anything
- Why are the English letters on the cap and the direction of MIN/MID/MAX inside not aligned?
- It has a function to adjust the amount of automatic lead advance ( MIN / MID / MAX ), but I don’t really get it. With how I use it, it doesn’t behave consistently. Even with the same setting, sometimes it advances too much, and sometimes too little.
- One of the selling points is that when you close and then open the cap, the lead comes out at just the right length from the start… But honestly, I’d also like a feature where if the lead is too long, closing and opening would bring it back to the right length. If it had that, manual clicking would truly be unnecessary.
What I like
- I really love the color. This bright orange lifts my mood. Also, a close friend of mine recently has orange as their image color, so that’s nice too.
- The “click” feeling when opening and closing the cap is insanely good. For things you use daily, this kind of “tactile feel” really matters.
- You can also attach the cap to the back end, and it has that same satisfying “click.”
- But I like using it without the cap. In this state, it’s super light, and it actually helps me write English compositions faster ( which was the original goal, now that I think about it ).
- The subtly engraved “JAPAN” is nice too.
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The list price is 5,500 yen. It’s ridiculously expensive, what the hell lol. But honestly, since it becomes a funny story whenever I talk about it, I’ll count it as something I like.
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I bought it on impulse when I was in a phase of studying like crazy and feeling kind of high.
- I’d never buy stationery at this price unless I was in that kind of mood… So I like it as a memory, too.
To wrap it up, here’s a comment from my friend:
- Friend: At this point, it’s less stationery and more like a craft piece…
